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T H I R D E D I T I O N

L o r a i n e B l a x t e r C h r i s t i n a H u g h e s M a l c o l m Ti g h t

HOW TO r e s e a r c h

9 780335 217465

ISBN 0-335-21746-X

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THIRD EDITION

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How to Research

THIRD EDITION

Loraine Blaxter, Christina Hughes and Malcolm Tight

Open University Press

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McGraw-Hill House Shoppenhangers Road Maidenhead

Berkshire England SL6 2QL

email: enquiries@openup.co.uk world wide web: www.openup.co.uk

and Two Penn Plaza, New York, NY 10121-2289, USA

First published 2006

Copyright © Loraine Blaxter, Christina Hughes and Malcolm Tight 2006

All rights reserved. Except for the quotation of short passages for the purposes of criticism and review, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher or a licence from the Copyright Licensing Agency Limited. Details of such licences (for reprographic reproduction) may be obtained from the Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd of 90 Tottenham Court Road, London, W1T 4LP.

A catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library ISBN-10: 0 335 21746 X (pbk) 0 335 21747 8 (hbk)

ISBN-13: 978 0 335 21746 5 (pbk) 978 0 335 21747 2 (hbk) Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

CIP data applied for

Typeset by RefineCatch Limited, Bungay, Suffolk Printed in Poland by

OZ Graf S.A.

www.polskabook.pl

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List of boxes ix

1 All at sea but learning to swim 1

Introduction 1

The first time researcher 3

Getting a flavour of possibilities 6

Why am I doing this research? 10

Will I have anything new to say? 12

In whose interests is this research? 13

At last, writing up 15

How to use this book 16

What’s different about this edition? 18

Summary 19

Exercises 19

Further reading 20

2 Getting started 21

Introduction 21

Choosing a topic 22

What to do if you can’t think of a topic 29

Focusing 33

Finding and choosing your supervisor 42

Individual and group research 44

Researching in your workplace 47

Keeping your research diary 48

Summary 49

Exercises 49

Further reading 50

3 Thinking about methods 53

Introduction 53

Everyday research skills 54

Which method is best? 58

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Families, approaches and techniques 61

Action research 67

Case studies 71

Experiments 75

Surveys 76

Which methods suit? 79

Deciding about methods 87

Summary 88

Exercises 88

Further reading 89

4 Reading for research 99

Introduction 99

Why read? 100

Coping with the research literature 101

Basic reading strategies 102

Using libraries 106

Using the Internet 109

Good enough reading 113

Reading about method as well as subject 118

Recording your reading 120

The literature review 122

Issues in reading 125

Summary 129

Exercises 129

Further reading 130

5 Managing your project 132

Introduction 132

Managing time 133

Mapping your project 135

Piloting 137

Dealing with key figures and institutions 137

Sharing responsibility 141

Using computers 145

Managing not to get demoralized when things do not go

as planned 147

Summary 150

Exercises 150

Further reading 151

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6 Collecting data 153

Introduction 153

Access and ethical issues 154

Sampling and selection 163

Applying techniques for collecting data 165

Documents 167

Interviews 172

Observations 176

Questionnaires 179

Recording your progress 182

The ups and downs of data collection 185

Summary 189

Exercises 189

Further reading 190

7 Analysing data 193

Introduction 193

The shape of your data 194

The nature of data 196

Managing your data 202

Computer-based data management and analysis 204

The process of analysis 206

Analysing documents 207

Analysing interviews 209

Analysing observations 212

Analysing questionnaires 214

Interpretation 218

Summary 222

Exercises 222

Further reading 223

8 Writing up 226

Introduction 226

Drafting and re-drafting 227

How to argue 233

How to criticize 237

Who am I writing for? 239

Grammar, referencing and plagiarism 244

Using tables, diagrams and other illustrations 246

Panics 248

Summary 251

Exercises 252

Further reading 252

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9 Finishing off 255

Introduction 255

Planning to finish? 256

The penultimate and final drafts 257

Added extras 260

The process of assessment 262

What do I do now? 268

Summary 271

Exercise 271

Further reading 272

References 283

Index 285

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1.1 An example of a Personal Development Plan 5

1.2 Some potential sources of help 5

1.3 Representations of the research process 8

1.4 The research spiral 9

1.5 Fifteen definitions of originality 13

2.1 The costs of research 26

2.2 A spider diagram of research interests and relations 32

2.3 Five important focusing questions 34

2.4 Refining research questions 35

2.5 Concepts, issues and contexts 36

2.6 All focus and no context 37

2.7 Doughnuts and jam roly-polys 38

2.8 Questions a research proposal should answer 40

2.9 Students’ and supervisors’ expectations 44

2.10 Individual or group research? 45

2.11 Key issues for group researchers 46

2.12 The pros and cons of researching your own workplace 47 3.1 Social research paradigms: some definitions 60 3.2 Thinking methodologically about research design 62 3.3 Research families, approaches and techniques 63 3.4 The differences between qualitative and quantitative research 65 3.5 The similarities between qualitative and quantitative research 65

3.6 Two examples of action research projects 68

3.7 Criteria distinguishing action research 69

3.8 Inappropriate uses of action research 70

3.9 The participatory action research spiral 71

3.10 Two examples of case study research 73

3.11 Advantages and disadvantages of case studies 74

3.12 Two examples of experimental research 76

3.13 Advantages and disadvantages of experiments 77

3.14 Two examples of survey research 78

3.15 Advantages and disadvantages of surveys 79

3.16 Which method to choose? 80

3.17 Developing reflexivity: some questions to ask yourself 84

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3.18 Eleven ways to combine qualitative and quantitative research 85

3.19 Two examples of mixed method research 86

4.1 Ten reasons for reading for research 100

4.2 Reading at different stages and for different purposes 101 4.3 Eight stages for finding what you need to read 106

4.4 Sources of information in the library 107

4.5 Key sites for social science researchers 110

4.6 Too much or too little information? 112

4.7 Getting to the gist: some hints and tips 114

4.8 SQ3R and SQ4R: strategies for reading 115

4.9 Assessing an argument 116

4.10 What is a critical reading? 117

4.11 Nine reasons for reading about method 118

4.12 Some examples of methods journals 119

4.13 What to put in your records 121

4.14 Some of the questions a literature review can answer 123

4.15 Literature and systematic reviews 124

4.16 Doing a literature review 125

4.17 Journal referencing practices 128

4.18 Use and abuse of references 128

5.1 Attitudes to time 133

5.2 Using time for research 134

5.3 Scheduling research using a grid 136

5.4 Handling your supervisor or manager 139

5.5 What a research contract might include 140

5.6 Advantages and disadvantages of research contracts 141 5.7 What you need to know from your institution 142

5.8 Team roles 143

5.9 Managing informal relationships 144

5.10 Useful facilities available on wordprocessing software 146

5.11 Twenty things that can go wrong 148

5.12 Responses to adversity 148

5.13 Researchers coping with problems and changes 149 6.1 How to increase your chances of gaining access 155 6.2 Strategies to consider if access is refused 156

6.3 Dealing with ethical problems 159

6.4 Common ethical issues 160

6.5 Ethical dilemmas for social justice research 162

6.6 Sampling strategies 163

6.7 Sampling strategies illustrated 164

6.8 Examples of research sampling strategies 166

6.9 Examples of the use of documents in research 168

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6.10 UK documentary sources for research 169

6.11 Reasons for using secondary data 171

6.12 Alternative interview techniques 173

6.13 Examples of using interviews in research 174

6.14 Different ways of asking sensitive questions 176 6.15 Examples of the use of observation in research 177

6.16 Issues in observation 178

6.17 Examples of the use of questionnaires in research 180

6.18 Types of survey questions 181

6.19 Hints on wording questions 182

6.20 Hints on questionnaire layout and presentation 183

6.21 Keeping research records 184

7.1 Ordered or chaotic data? 195

7.2 Examples of quantitative data 197

7.3 Examples of qualitative data 198

7.4 Techniques for managing data 203

7.5 Issues to consider when choosing data management packages for

qualitative research 205

7.6 Issues in documentary analysis 208

7.7 Examples of documentary analysis 209

7.8 Content analysis 210

7.9 Examples of interview analysis 211

7.10 Critical discourse analysis 212

7.11 Examples of observation analysis 213

7.12 Examples of questionnaire analysis 214

7.13 Levels of quantitative analysis 215

7.14 Descriptive statistics 216

7.15 Examples of inferential statistics 216

7.16 Types of quantitative data 217

7.17 Commonly used multivariate analysis techniques 218 7.18 Significance, generalizability, reliability and validity 221

8.1 Twenty forms of procrastination 229

8.2 Twenty suggestions for overcoming procrastination 230

8.3 How to contract your writing 232

8.4 How to expand your writing 232

8.5 Possible forms for an academic thesis 236

8.6 Possible forms for a work report 237

8.7 Writing styles 241

8.8 Alternative forms of writing 242

8.9 Some tips on grammar and punctuation 245

8.10 How to reference 247

8.11 Plagiarism and how to avoid it 248

8.12 When to use illustrations 249

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9.1 Twenty good reasons for not handing your report or thesis in on

time 256

9.2 Checking your penultimate draft 257

9.3 Common academic assessment practices 264

9.4 Common work assessment practices 265

9.5 What to do before presenting your research 266

9.6 Responding to criticism 267

9.7 Twenty things to do now that you’ve finished your research 268

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1

All at sea but learning to swim

Introduction • The first time researcher • Getting a flavour of possibilities • Why am I doing this research? • Will I have anything new to say? • In whose interests is this research? • At last, writing up • How to use this book • What’s different about this edition? • Summary • Exercises • Further reading

Introduction

This book focuses on the processes of research as well as research methods. It aims to demystify research, recognizing the everyday skills and techniques involved. It encourages you to think of research as a kind of spiral through which you revisit the various stages of the process, but always with different and developed insights. The book is multidisciplinary in scope. It is designed to be suitable for those undertaking research in the social sciences, as well as in related subjects such as education, business studies and health and social care.

Are you currently feeling all at sea and not knowing in which direction to turn with your research project? Or is your research going swimmingly and you are steaming ahead sure in the knowledge that you are doing a good job? Per- haps you are fluctuating between the ends of this spectrum. You have a sense of drowning at one moment in the size of the task ahead, and then floating serenely along at the next moment content with the work you have produced so far. Maybe you are treading water and feeling your work has come to a stand- still. Or perhaps you are at the stage of dipping your feet into icy cold waters for a

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short paddle in order to test the water, before you take the plunge and begin your research.

As a new, or not so new, researcher, such feelings are common. Indeed, we could say that they go with the territory of research. There is excitement at the prospect of discovering new insights into a topic of interest. There is a sense of confusion over what you are meant to be doing and when. You are aware that you have the ability to build on your current skills and aptitudes to complete the task ahead successfully. But this can be undermined by a hint of fear that maybe you are not really up to the mark of undertaking what is, after all, a major form of independent study.

Surviving and feeling that you are thriving across the period of your study is, therefore, an important goal, as this will enable you to maintain motivation when things get tough, and to develop a sense of competence and expertise in the conduct of your work. This book is about the practice and experience of doing research, and is designed to ensure that you survive and thrive. It is aimed at those, particularly the less experienced, who are involved in small-scale research projects. It is intended to be useful to both those doing research, whether for academic credit or not, and those responsible for teaching, supervising or managing new researchers.

However, to survive and thrive does not simply mean staying in familiar seas. As a person involved in learning, surviving as a research student is about accumulating knowledge and extending skills. Thriving as a research student can be helped by anticipating the sorts of skills, the different forms of know- ledge and the resources that you will need. This involves looking ahead and doing some preparation. It means that you need to simulate stormy seas in order to begin to develop the swimming skills that you need to thrive.

With this in mind, this opening chapter is designed to encourage you to look ahead in several senses. Through a series of case studies, this chapter takes you through key aspects of the research process. These range from getting started to writing up. In addition, this chapter introduces you to a number of common dilemmas and concerns facing research students. These include maintaining motivation, understanding the meanings of originality, and exploring issues of truth, power and values. Overall, this chapter is designed to encourage you to gain a sense of the route you are taking, because if you don’t know the destination, how are you going to get there? Happy swimming!

The chapter is organized into the following sections:

The first time researcher. Undertaking an audit of the skills, knowledge and resources you already possess, and developing a Personal Development Plan for the successful completion of your research.

Getting a flavour of possibilities. Introducing some elements of research design and developing understandings of the varied nature of research.

Why am I doing this research? Exploring your motivations for undertaking research.

Will I have anything new to say? Debunking the idea of originality.

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In whose interests is this research? Issues of truth, power and values and the context of your research.

At last, writing up. Planning ahead means ensuring you know the rules, regulations and audiences for your research.

How to use this book. What you will find in it, and how to make your way through it.

What is different about this edition? What has changed and what has been added since the second edition.

The chapter ends with a summary.

The first time researcher

John has an appointment to see his dissertation supervisor. He is worried. He has no idea what topic he might research or even a clear idea about the different kinds of methodological techniques available to him. His assumption is that it is only great men, who have far more superior skills and knowledge than he might ever possess, who actually do ‘real’ research. But his intellectual anxieties are only one of his concerns. He also has doubts whether he will be organized enough to complete a piece of work that he will have to design and execute himself. To date, his only experiences of education have been on courses with set tasks and readings. This dissertation is really going to test him. ‘Am I up to it?’, he thinks, as he knocks on the supervisor’s door.

In our experience, it doesn’t really matter what level you are studying at, doing research usually provokes a series of anxieties. You might be asked to under- take research for an ‘A’ level module or as part of your undergraduate degree.

You may be writing a dissertation for an MA or a PhD thesis. At the outset you may, therefore, be feeling all at sea, wondering what is expected and how you are going to cope. Indeed, it is often the case that these anxieties and worries occur despite other positive experiences of research. For example, you might be embarking on your undergraduate dissertation having already written meth- odological essays for a research methods module. Or you might be beginning your PhD having recently completed a 15,000 word MA dissertation. What- ever your situation, as a first time researcher or a not-quite-first-time researcher, you are likely to experience various concerns and worries. In such a situation, it is easy to forget that by the time you are required to undertake first-hand research, you already have a wide knowledge and sets of skills that have been developed to enable you to be successful.

Our intention in this book is to give you the skills and confidence that will take you successfully from the initial idea to a completed piece of research.

With this in mind, there is no better time to start than now. Whatever your

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level, you will be beginning this particular research project with a host of skills, resources and knowledge derived from your education and life experiences to date. These skills will be technical (e.g. use of information retrieval systems such as libraries and the Internet) and social (e.g. working collaboratively with fellow students, getting on with others). Resources will include social resources (e.g. family, friends, teachers), emotional resources (e.g. resilience) and material resources (e.g. time and money). And of course, you will have know- ledge about your subject area (e.g. sociology, psychology, education, business studies, health, etc.).

One way of gaining a sense of the skills, resources and knowledge you already possess is to undertake an audit. You can do this by completing Exercise 1.1 at the end of the chapter. Exercise 1.1 should provide you with the base line you are working from. However, there is no doubt that undertaking first-hand research will require you – and indeed will enable you – to increase your skill and knowledge levels, to work more independently and to have a greater sense of self-direction.

The gap between the level you are working at now and the level required for successful completion of your research project represents your personal learn- ing needs. In order to produce a development plan that will enable you to meet these learning needs, you will need to assess the adequacy of your current skills, resources and knowledge for the task you are now facing. Do you, for example, need to have a higher level of skill in searching for existing research relating to your topic using Internet search engines or specialist journal sources? Or are there specific knowledge areas relating to your topic that you need to be more familiar with? For example, if your research is concerned with the role of professionalism in nursing, are you required to have an understand- ing of the changing nature of professionalism in a range of employment fields?

Moreover, do you need to have a better appreciation of the financial resources you will need for your research?

Some of the resources, skills and knowledge you possess will, though, be more than adequate for the task ahead. Exercise 1.2 is designed to help you work out where the specific gaps are, and to identify your learning needs.

Exercise 1.2 should have highlighted four issues:

1 That you already possess some of the main elements that will contribute to you successfully completing your dissertation or project. When things get tough don’t forget this.

2 That, in terms of skills and knowledge, you have some learning needs that need addressing in either the short or the long term.

3 That you have resource needs that need addressing.

4 That there are some areas of skill, knowledge and resources that you are unsure or unclear about and, in consequence, need to explore further.

In terms of your learning needs, it is at this point that you should consider creating a Personal Development Plan. Such a plan can be relatively simple in

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that it records three aspects which will be central for the successful completion of your project: your identified learning needs; how they are going to be met;

and the planned timescale for meeting these. An example is provided in Box 1.1.

For resource needs and areas where you are unclear or do not yet have sufficient information, it is worthwhile identifying the sources of help that will address these. Box 1.2 provides a list of some of the potential ones that we have identified.

Box 1.1 An example of a Personal Development Plan

Identified learning need? How will I achieve this need? What is my timescale?

Settle on a topic Talk to friends and other students

In the next week Work through Chapter 2 of this

book Review existing research on my topic

Conduct a range of literature reviews

In the next 6 weeks Questionnaire design Consult textbooks and

supervisor

In the next 2 weeks Look at examples in other

research

In the next 3 weeks Qualitative data analysis Attend a course In the next 4 months

Box 1.2 Some potential sources of help

• Your supervisor

• Your fellow students

• The departmental secretary

• University or college services (counselling, information technology, careers, library)

• Specialist departments (e.g. computing, English language support)

• Student union

• Your manager

• Other work colleagues, particularly those who have undertaken similar research projects recently

• Family

• Friends

• Lecturers/supervisors/teachers from previous courses of study

• The various handbooks that your department or school provide

• The various textbooks that have been written for research students (includ- ing, of course, this one)

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So far, our aim has been to encourage you to recognize that you bring valu- able skills, knowledge and resources to your research. You already possess many of the requirements that are necessary for success at this stage. We have also encouraged you to recognize that you can contribute to the likelihood of your being successful through developing an understanding of your learning and resource needs, both for the immediate future and in the longer term. This means that, as well as looking back at what you have learnt and understood, you also need to look forward to what will be required. Now is the time, therefore, to draft your Personal Development Plan (see Exercise 1.3).

Getting a flavour of possibilities

‘Well, that wasn’t too bad’, Samia thought, as she left her supervisor’s office. I now know that all that reading I did on Malthusian economics might pay off for me. And my IT skills are in pretty good shape. I still don’t really have a handle on the variety of different kinds of research though. My supervisor said I might think about what kinds of methodological approaches I prefer. Do I want to do num- bers or do I want to talk to people? The only research I really know about is surveys and questionnaires. I hadn’t given any thought to something like spend- ing long periods of time with a small group of people and doing participant observation. But she said it was a possibility. And I never even knew that I could base the whole of the design of my project on library research. I had always thought that was just the literature review part of it. I will have to give some thought to the different types of research and see if any appeal or are possible.

It is often not fully appreciated that, at the very earliest stages of thinking about research, there are many ways in which this might proceed. For example, say your general topic was ‘Asylum Seekers in the UK’. You might research this in any, and indeed all, of the following ways:

• By gathering together existing statistics

• Looking at policy at local and national level

• Exploring the responses of relevant charitable organizations

• Devising a questionnaire for various ‘stakeholders’ in this field

• Conducting interviews with asylum seekers

• Living among asylum seekers over a period of time

• Undertaking an analysis of media representations of asylum seekers Your decision on how you might proceed clearly depends upon a number of factors. The most significant of these is what you are interested in finding out.

For example, if your research questions whether the numbers of asylum seekers coming to the UK are increasing or decreasing, which countries they

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are travelling from, and what sex and age they are, then an analysis of existing statistics would be a very useful place to start. You would then be in a position to use percentages and bar charts to demonstrate your findings. Alternatively, if you are more interested in the experiences of asylum seekers once they have arrived in the UK, then you might consider interviews or even try to spend some time living among them as a form of participant observation. Your pro- ject or dissertation would then present the words of your research participants or extracts from your research diary detailing, for example, something of daily life for a particular group of asylum seekers.

The section on Focusing in Chapter 2, particularly Box 2.8, considers the issues involved in drafting a research proposal.

In addition, your methodological decisions will depend upon how much time you have available, the expected word length of your project or disserta- tion, your research skills, the regulations and preferences of your department, school, examination board, manager and/or supervisor, what and whom you are able to access, the ethical parameters of your proposal and your own pref- erences. These represent some very practical concerns, and you would be well advised to consult with your supervisor or manager at the very outset.

For example, if you are thinking of conducting an interview-based study and you are completing a 10,000 word MA dissertation conducted over a 3 month period, you might plan to interview between six to eight people once only. By comparison, for a PhD of 80,000 words conducted over a 3 year period and using a qualitative research approach, you might be expected to have an in- depth knowledge of the lives of your research respondents, and be planning to spend an equivalent of 12 months conducting fieldwork. If you are planning to take a more quantitative approach and you are an undergraduate student undertaking a dissertation, you are unlikely to have the resources, in terms of time and money, available to conduct a large-scale survey. Secondary data analysis may, therefore, be a more fruitful strategy. Conversely, if you are conducting a quantitatively based PhD, then you should expect to have already, and to acquire further, a high level of statistical ability.

The ways in which your research questions and interests shape the possible design of your research combine with practical issues such as time, resources and abilities. Accordingly, they each contribute to the ways in which your project will proceed. With this in mind, take a look at the representations of research shown in Box 1.3. These diagrams give alternative views of the research process. The most standard understanding of research is that showing a linear design, where the research begins with a problem and proceeds through data collection and analysis to the written report. The other diagram shows a far more iterative approach. This design seeks to convey the inter- relationship between data collection, analysis and report writing. These two

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representations may be understood as lying towards the polar ends of a continuum where, between these points, there are many variations.

Indeed, there are at least four common viewpoints when it comes to conveying and understanding the various processes of research:

• Research is often presented as a fixed, linear series of stages, with a clear start and end. This is the ‘standard’ view.

• There are also somewhat more complicated representations of this linear Box 1.3 Representations of the research process

(Sources: Marshall and Rossman 1999: 26; Punch 2005: 40)

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view that allow for slightly different routes to be taken through the process at particular stages.

• Another common representation portrays research as a circular process, analogous to the more general process of learning. Much the same set of stages is included, and in much the same order as in the linear view, but there is an implication both that the process might be entered at a number of points, and that the experience of later stages might lead to a reinterpretation or revisiting of earlier stages.

• There are also variants, often associated with action research, that see the research process as cyclical. Here, the process is shown as going through a number of cycles, the effects of each one impacting upon the way in which successive cycles are approached.

Our preferred view builds on these representations, seeing the research process as a spiral (see Box 1.4). Seen from this perspective, research: is cyclical; can be

Box 1.4 The research spiral

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entered at almost any point; is a never ending process; will cause you to reconsider your practice; and will return you to a different starting place.

The nature of the cycle varies between research designs. For example, in most quantitative research projects, decisions about analysis have to be taken before any fieldwork or data collection is undertaken. This is because the types of statistical techniques that are possible vary with the types of data collected.

In the case of qualitative research, by contrast, data collection, sorting, analy- sis and reading can take place simultaneously. Getting a flavour of each of the possible – even ideal – ways your project might proceed is an important part of the initial stage. This will enable you to select the most appropriate research process for your needs and interests, and to develop a sense of the limitations of the one you do select. This will also enable you to develop an understanding of the implications of your research approach, in terms of when the different elements are staged and accomplished, and in terms of what you might expect about the process and your associated experiences.

Why am I doing this research?

Helen is sitting in the library. She has several books on the desk in front of her.

One is open but unread. The others are stacked in short piles giving the look of a stockade around her. Her notepad is open, the page already containing her first embryonic notes and several doodles. She has spent the best part of the morning searching for these texts, and counts herself lucky that at least some of those on her list were actually still on the shelves. And she had a breakthrough the other day as she had decided that her research design would be based on qualitative approaches. Yet now she’s got herself organized to this stage, she is wondering why she’s doing this research. Is it really going to be that interesting a topic? Isn’t there too much (i.e. boring) preparatory work to do before she can really get going? She would much rather get out there talking to and interviewing people.

But, actually, even that seems too much effort now. Maybe it’s best to pack up.

Start another day. Not do it at all . . .

While there are many highs when doing research, it also has to be acknow- ledged that there will be many moments when the task ahead appears daunt- ing or tedious, or simply not worth the effort. It is important, therefore, to remind yourself, from time to time, of why you are undertaking, or interested in undertaking, research. Quite often professional researchers are initially motivated by hopes that their work will change the world in some way. There are also many researchers who reflect upon how their initial choice of topic was motivated by their personal circumstances or something that is close to their personal interests. For example, stepmothers may study stepfamilies, or non-traditional students’ may study the experiences of other non-traditional

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students. Of course, research is a job like any other. Researchers, therefore, often undertake studies on topics that are not of their personal choosing, but because they pay the rent or may take them on to the next stage of their career.

Think about your reasons for doing your project and try to complete Exercise 1.4.

As a researcher, you will find it useful to understand why you are involved in research. This will affect how you go about your research, and what you get out of it. If you are in doubt about your motivation, or reach a low spot when you feel that you want to give up, you might ask yourself the following questions:

• What are the personal rewards from completing this study? For example, how will the award of the qualification associated with your research enhance your career and employment prospects? What new skills will you have acquired? Will your research have enabled you to develop new con- tacts or visit new places? Will it have enabled you to demonstrate hitherto hidden competencies to significant others? What kinds of satisfaction will you experience once the last word is written on the last page?

• How will the knowledge you produce contribute to furthering understand- ings or changing lives? Most often this question is understood in terms of large-scale change through, for example, finding the ultimate solution to a perennial problem. However, most contributions from research tend to be smaller in scale, though no less significant in terms of their importance to the individuals involved. For example, your research respondents may feel that this is the first time anyone has ever taken a real interest in their con- cerns. After all, it is quite rare – outside of therapeutic encounters – for anyone to sit down, listen intently and record everything you say for an hour or so. Research can, therefore, be a very important validating experi- ence for research respondents. The enthusiasm you garner from being involved in research can also be very persuasive for others who may develop insights from, or become more interested in, the issues arising from your research. This can create incremental and cascading changes that, while they may not rock the world immediately, nonetheless become significant in themselves.

But what might you do if you really feel you have no motivation at all? After all, if you aren’t motivated, or are not motivated very strongly, this will affect your drive to finish the research project successfully. The obvious answer to the researcher with no motivation is to get some quickly or do something else!

If the latter is not possible, you might seek motivation in one of the following ways:

• changing your research project to something you are more interested in;

• focusing on the skills you will develop through undertaking the research;

• incorporating within the research some knowledge acquisition of relevance to you;

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• seeing the research project as part of a larger activity, which will have knock-on benefits for your work, your career, your social life or your life in general;

• finding someone who will support you and push you through until you finish;

• promising yourself a reward when it is successfully completed.

If you are still troubled by your lack of motivation, have a look at the section in Chapter 2 on What to do if you can’t think of a topic.

Will I have anything new to say?

It’s all been done before. Everything I was planning to do I can now see that other researchers have done before. What’s the point, then, of carrying on? Hussain felt a strong sense of rising panic as the deadline for handing in his dissertation was fast approaching. He had completed all the data collection and had also completed quite a lot of the analysis. He realized that his findings were not terribly new to anyone who knew his research field. They also confirmed much of what he had previously thought was the case.

For many research projects, particularly those carried out for a university degree, there is often a need for some kind or level of originality. This will typically be expressed in regulations or guidance in very general terms: ‘an original project’, ‘an original contribution’ or ‘evidence of original thinking’.

But what is originality? And where can you get some? If you are unsure, and it matters to you in your research, take a look at Box 1.5. Here you will find 15 definitions of originality, collected together by others. Have a look at them and consider if your research meets any of the criteria listed. As the definitions quoted indicate, it is possible to be original in terms of topic, approach or presentation. The element of originality in your own research is, realistically, likely to be very small. Highly original research is very unusual, and you are probably setting your sights far too high if you try aiming for it.

The corollary of this is that your research is almost certainly original in some way, always providing, that is, that you are not slavishly copying someone else’s earlier research. So be reassured. Indeed, it is quite common for researchers to become so familiar with their topic that they forget that it was all new to them when they started. While good researchers need to be over- familiar with the relevant literature, their data and their findings, this can lead to a mistaken assumption that everyone else is as knowledgeable as they are.

Researchers therefore forget their initial excitement and interest in gaining

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new knowledge and, in consequence, they forget that what they have to say may well be novel and new to other audiences. But if you are in doubt, check it out with those who will judge the originality of your research as early as pos- sible. This advice also applies if you fear that you may be being too original for comfort. If you want to complete a useful piece of research in a particular context, it would not be sensible to, for example, present it in a way which is unacceptable.

In whose interests is this research?

Rishi thought his research was telling the facts of the case. He was very pleased that he had proven how poor the management was at Britwell and Company. He was shocked when his supervisor told him that all he could say was that ‘such and such’ was someone’s perspective. Actually he said that Rishi needed to

Box 1.5 Fifteen definitions of originality

Here are 15 definitions of originality, as put together by Phillips and Pugh. The first six are derived from a previous author, Francis, while the other nine derive from interviews with Australian students, supervisors and examiners.

1 Setting down a major piece of new information in writing for the first time.

2 Continuing a previously original piece of work.

3 Carrying out original work designed by the supervisor.

4 Providing a single original technique, observation or result in an other- wise unoriginal but competent piece of research.

5 Having many original ideas, methods and interpretations all performed by others under the direction of the postgraduate.

6 Showing originality in testing somebody else’s idea.

7 Carrying out empirical work that hasn’t been done before.

8 Making a synthesis that hasn’t been made before.

9 Using already known material but with a new interpretation.

10 Trying out something in this country that has previously only been done in other countries.

11 Taking a particular technique and applying it in a new area.

12 Bringing new evidence to bear on an old issue.

13 Being cross-disciplinary and using different methodologies.

14 Looking at areas that people in the discipline haven’t looked at before.

15 Adding to knowledge in a way that hasn’t previously been done before.

(Source: Phillips and Pugh 2005: 62; partly after Francis 1976)

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consider how much his values and experiences had impacted upon the selection of data and the analysis. It wasn’t a perspective, Rishi raged, it was the truth.

The management were lazy and inept. All of his research respondents told him so.

Many people coming to research for the first time have a tendency to think that they are in the business of establishing ‘the truth’ about a particular issue or subject. They want to find out ‘the facts’ or want to ‘prove’ (or perhaps disprove) a particular argument. They believe that they can be ‘objective’ in their research and that others will sit up and take notice when they present their findings. We shouldn’t be surprised that this is the case because the

‘standard’ view of research is that of a detached scientist examining the facts of the case coolly and unemotionally. However, this standard view of research belies the extent to which, as we have suggested, research is a social activity that can be powerfully affected by the researcher’s own motivations and values. It also takes place within a broader social context, within which politics and power relations influence what research is undertaken, how it is carried out and whether and how it is reported and acted upon. To examine how this effects the different forms of data that can be collected, its subsequent analysis and findings, try Exercise 1.5.

Exercise 1.5 suggests how politics, power and values may be important con- siderations for your research, especially if you carry it out within your own or another organization. Your contacts will affect your access to the subjects of your research, may require you to submit your research proposals for scrutiny, and to revise them, and may exercise some veto over what you can actually write up or publish. If your research requires ethical approval prior to proceed- ing, which is increasingly likely to be the case, you will be required to adhere to a broader set of values and ways of proceeding, regardless of whether your research is organizationally based or not. And, if you are unlucky, misread the organizational politics or irritate the researched, you may find cooperation withdrawn part way through your project.

It is important, therefore, to understand the perspectives and motivations of those who facilitate your access, or take part in, or who may be stakeholders in, your research. Preparatory time spent in learning about this is always well spent, as well as being valuable contextual research in its own right. Rather than expecting to ‘find the truth’, therefore, it is better to think of research work in terms of words like rigour, reliability, professionalism and systematiza- tion. No one research project can realistically aspire to do more than advance our understanding in some way. Most researchers have to compromise their practices to fit into the time and other resources available for their studies.

Doing research is, therefore, about producing something that is ‘good enough’

rather than providing the last final word of truth on a particular topic.

This does not mean, of course, that such research cannot be pursued with drive, passion and commitment. These are important qualities that help main- tain momentum and interest, and can impact beyond the research into

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dissemination. However, all researchers need to take care that their passion does not lead to dogma or an uncritical take on the views of research partici- pants. Rather, researchers need to maintain their levels of critical reflection, and so ensure their research is conducted in as open and transparent a way as possible in terms of its intentions, methodology, analysis and findings.

At last, writing up

The data had all been collected. The analysis was virtually complete. Now is the time to switch on the word file and begin to write it all up. But hang on, thought Becky, how do I do this? What is the format? I’ve never written a dissertation before. Do I need an index and chapters? Or do I just set it all down like an essay?

How many references should I use? Do I have enough? Or maybe, lucky me, I have too many? Then again, I promised to give a copy to the manager of the call centre where I conducted the research. She was really keen to see it because she’s hoping it will help her improve productivity. Will she want to read all this literature review stuff? Also, how is she going to take some of the things the staff had to say about her? Oh dear . . .

It may seem that the writing up stage is a long way off, but it is important to consider the rules, regulations and expectations of the various audiences for your research early on. For example, if you are researching for a university degree or another form of formal qualification, you will have to produce a dissertation or a thesis that will be assessed according to academic criteria. It may be, however, that you are carrying out a research project for your employer, who will expect a concise report emphasizing the implications of your findings and recommending action. You may be balancing both of these roles. However, while the processes may be broadly similar, the outputs are likely to look very different.

For more advice here, look at the section in Chapter 8 on Whom am I writing for?

Your audience may also include those you are researching, whether at work or within a community organization. If the latter, your approach may be to work from the bottom up, gaining consensus and support from all involved throughout the process; and the research may be as much about the change and development engendered in your audience as about any written output.

The important theme which runs through this discussion is your need, as a researcher, to be aware of the context in which you are researching. This manifests itself in rules, whether written or unwritten. You need to be aware

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of these rules and to follow them if you wish to succeed. You cannot hope just to muddle along and not run into problems.

Hint: Open a file on ‘Regulations and Expectations’. Include copies of all the written regulations that apply to you research project and add notes on any unwritten expectations which you may find out about during your work.

How to use this book

The organization of the book

If you have already leafed through this book, or looked at the contents page, you will probably have noticed that it is organized in the kind of sequential, linear fashion which we criticized earlier in this chapter when discussing dif- ferent representations of the research process. It is difficult to organize a book in any other way.

Thus, there are nine chapters, as follows:

1 All at sea but learning to swim, which considers the knowledge, skills and resources required, and the associated processes and concerns of research.

2 Getting started, which discusses how to focus your research project.

3 Thinking about methods, which examines the most common approaches and techniques used in research.

4 Reading for research, which discusses how and what to read, and reading as a source of data.

5 Managing your project, which deals with the planning and progressing of the work.

6 Collecting data, which considers the techniques and issues involved in data collection.

7 Analysing data, which examines how you can record, analyse and inter- pret different kinds of data.

8 Writing up, which deals with the organization and drafting of your report or thesis.

9 Finishing off, which looks at how to complete your project and what you might do afterwards.

The elements of the book

In looking at this book, you will probably also have noticed that it does not consist of straightforward text, but is composed of a number of elements.

These are:

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• The text itself, which is designed to offer guidance and lead you through the book.

• A series of over one hundred boxes, which provide summaries, illustrations, examples and lists relevant to the issues discussed in the text.

• A range of exercises, located at the end of each chapter, which are designed to get you thinking about some of the issues raised in the context of your own research plans and experiences.

• Dozens of quotations, either in the text or in boxes, exemplifying and illustrating both the experience of other researchers and their insights into researching.

• Up-to-date and extensive annotated bibliographies of relevant books on the topics covered, at the end of each chapter, with an indication of their contents.

• At the end of the book, a complete list of the references mentioned in the text.

• Within the text, cross-references to guide you between parts of the book.

• Occasional hints, tips and health warnings, designed to keep you on track.

We have adopted this varied presentational form to help you, the reader, to engage with what are rich and complex issues and debates, but without using complicated language. It is also intended to encourage different ways of using the book and its contents.

As social scientists trained in three different disciplines – anthropology, sociology and geography respectively – we have tried to include examples and illustrations from across the range of the social sciences. You will, however, find traces of our biographies throughout the book.

How to find your way through the book

There are many possible ways of using this book. The approach you adopt will depend upon your experience and preferences, the other support you are receiving and the kind of research project you are engaged in. You may, for example, already be well into your research by the time you pick up this book, and be looking for guidance on specific issues; or you may not have started yet and be scouting around for general advice.

Among the different ways in which you might use this book we may identify the following:

• You could start at the beginning and read through to the end. Though this is commonly perceived as the normal way to read a book, and to conduct research, we do not imagine that many of you will be doing this.

• You could start by reading Chapter 4, Reading for research, and then work both backwards and forwards from there.

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• You could scan the contents page, read this introductory chapter, flick through the other chapters and sections, and then focus your attention on the pages that are of current interest to you.

• You could use the index to find references to topics that concern you.

• You could use the book as a basis for discussion, dialogue or exchange of ideas between yourself and others engaged in similar research projects.

• If you are involved in teaching or supervising those undertaking research, you might use the book as a source for exercises or ideas.

These are just some of the possibilities. We do not wish to restrict the ways in which you might use the book. Indeed, we would see your use of it as in many ways paralleling the research process itself: starting at any point, jumping from place to place, doing several things simultaneously, returning with renewed understanding to places you have already visited. To help you in this process, we have built in lots of cross-references between the different sections.

We would welcome your ideas on and responses to the book. If you would like to make a suggestion, please contact the authors through the publishers.

What’s different about this edition?

In producing this third edition, we have drawn on the many helpful sugges- tions made by readers, and our own experiences, since the first edition was published in 1996. In particular, we have:

• thoroughly updated the bibliographies and references, to reflect con- temporary concerns and issues in social research;

• added new examples and illustrations;

• revised the format by moving all exercises to the end of each chapter;

• completely revised Chapter 1, using a case study format and introducing new material on identifying and addressing learning needs.

We hope that you find this edition even more useful than the last one!

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Summary

Having read this chapter, you should:

• have an awareness of the skills, knowledge and resources you already possess that will enable you to survive stormy waters ahead;

• have an awareness of the skills, knowledge and resources that you need to enhance or acquire to enable you to thrive through your research work;

• now recognize the need to produce a Personal Development Plan;

• have some understanding of the variety of activities which may be con- sidered as being ‘research’;

• appreciate that the research process is not straightforward, predictable or linear;

• have a clearer idea of your own motivations for engaging in research and of the context for your research;

• be more confident about your own ability to carry out a small-scale research project.

Exercises

1.1 What skills, resources and knowledge do you already have? Identify as many of the following as you can that have contributed to your success in academic work in the past: skills (e.g. information technology, reading, writing, managing time); resources (e.g. time, money, support networks);

knowledge (e.g. subject knowledge, research knowledge, knowledge of systems, processes); your personality/temperament.

1.2 Expanding on past successes. Using the list of skills, resources and know- ledge that you have produced in Exercise 1.1, identify those areas that:

you know are adequate for your current needs; you know need develop- ing for your future needs; or where you are unsure whether you have a high enough level of a particular skill, resource or knowledge.

1.3 My Personal Development Plan. To produce a personal development plan, you should enter at least one item under each of the following headings: Identified learning need? How will I achieve this need? What is my timescale? Review your Plan periodically as your research progresses.

1.4 Reasons for undertaking research. List your reasons for your current or anticipated involvement in research. List as many as you can think of.

1.5 The context of your research. Imagine you are doing research on experi- ences of training at work, whether within your own company or another.

Would your findings be different if you approached your interviewees through: the managing director, the personnel manager, the shop

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stewards’ committee, the unemployment centre? How might they differ?

How might this affect your conclusions? What if you had to write a report of your conclusions for each of these audiences? You can think about this as an exercise in finding out what is safe and what is risky in terms of expectations, theory, styles of writing, etc.

Further reading

As this is the first chapter in the book, and designed to be introductory, no specific suggestions for further reading will be given here. If you are keen to read more at this stage, however, you might look at the suggestions for the next chapter, or any of the other chapters. In many cases, of course, the items referred to could have been listed in more than one chapter, and contain sections that are relevant to a number of chapters.

We have designed the annotated bibliographies, included in the further reading sections at the end of the following eight chapters, to enable you to:

• browse through and identify texts which are likely to be of particular inter- est to you;

• identify books which focus on social science research in general, and those which are specific to particular disciplines or subject areas;

• quickly access deeper, more detailed or more theoretical treatments of the social research process.

The bibliographies have been restricted to books in print. You will find that they vary considerably in length, with those for Chapters 3, 6 and 7, which cover research methods and the collection and analysis of data, being particu- larly extensive. The list of further reading included in Chapter 9, the final chapter, is also relatively long, as this includes more theoretical and extended treatments for those who wish, or need, to probe the literature in more detail.

Please note that if a book isn’t listed this doesn’t mean that we think it’s not very good – it’s probably that we just haven’t got round to reading it yet!

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2

Getting started

Introduction • Choosing a topic • What to do if you can’t think of a topic • Focusing • Finding and choosing your supervisor • Individual and group research • Researching in your workplace • Keeping your research diary • Summary • Exercises • Further reading

Introduction

The purpose of this chapter is to help you move from the position of having decided to do a piece of research to having a good idea of what you are going to do.

The chapter looks at seven closely related issues:

Choosing a topic. The issues to bear in mind in deciding what you are going to research.

What to do if you can’t think of a topic. Some hints and tips on how to develop one.

Focusing. How to get from your initial idea to something that is feasible and relevant.

Finding and choosing your supervisor. How to go about selecting your most important research contact.

Individual and group research. The different factors to bear in mind if you are going to be researching with others.

Researching in your workplace. The advantages and disadvantages, and how to cope.

Keeping your research diary. Make up your mind now to record your feelings, experience, decisions and ideas as you undertake your research project.

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Remember: the minute you’ve decided to do something, you’ve started your research project. By reading this, you’ve started.

Choosing a topic

Being selfish is something few adults would, openly at least, admit to. Yet it is central to the sanity of the hard-pressed researcher. At the start of your project you are about to take on a considerable commitment which is probably in addition to many continuing demands on your time . . . So be selfish, focus on what interests you, think about your curriculum vitae and your future professional development as well as the impact your study might have on the workplace, and then step forward with confidence.

(Edwards and Talbot 1999: 3) Choosing your research topic is probably the most important single decision you have to make in doing research. In this section, we discuss 12 points you might bear in mind in making that choice.

How much choice you have

You may not, of course, have much choice in what you do. The general area for your research, and perhaps the detailed specification, may be determined by your employer or funder. But even in these cases, you will likely have some scope for making the project more interesting or relevant to your own concerns. If, for example, you have to do a piece of research which you are not particularly interested in, you might make it more palatable by adding something to it or by focusing on a part of the project which does interest you.

It is quite common for part-time students or researchers, who are registered for degrees which require them to undertake a piece of small-scale research, and who are receiving some support from their employers, to have their choice of research topic at least partly determined by their boss. Their employer will usually then expect to receive a report on the research project, and may also be seeking a more practical result in terms, for example, of improved working practices. In such cases, it is important to be aware of the different expectations of employers and educational institutions, and to plan ahead accordingly.

More guidance on this is given in the section in Chapter 8 on Who am I writing for?

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Your motivation

If you have not already read it, you might usefully read the section in Chapter 1 on Why am I doing this research?

If you are in doubt about whether you have the necessary motivation to carry through the piece of research you have in mind, ask yourself:

Will it get me out of bed early on a wet Monday morning?

Or, if you are an early morning person:

Will I want to work on it on Friday evening?

If your answer is no, you may well have problems ahead, and you might be best advised to change or modify your research topic, if you can, to something which rouses your passion or drive rather more strongly.

Regulations and expectations

As we noted in Chapter 1, understanding any and all written regulations and unwritten expectations which apply to your research is of critical importance.

If you are undertaking a research project for, or as part of, a university degree, then you should be provided with a copy of the relevant rules and regulations.

If you do not have a copy, ask for one or look them up online. Read these regulations, question any you are not clear about, and follow them.

If you don’t follow the regulations – and produce a dissertation or thesis which is too long or too short, in the wrong format or inappropriately written – you are laying yourself open to problems. It may still get through if the infringements are relatively minor, but don’t count on it. You may have to substantially revise and re-submit your work. At best, you are likely to irritate your examiners, whereas, by following the rules, you should immediately create a good impression.

Further advice on the processes of writing up and presentation is given in Chapters 8 and 9.

Whatever documentation you are given about rules and regulations, however, it is unlikely to deal with ‘unwritten rules’ or expectations. These you may need to tease out by pertinent questioning of your supervisor, manager, colleagues or fellow researchers.

If you are undertaking research not for a degree, but for your employer,

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funder or somebody else, or just perhaps for personal interest, there will likely still be rules and regulations which you have to follow, both written and unwritten. Funders may provide quite precise specifications for the work, often requiring regular updates or reports on your progress. Your employer may not be so clear, but will still have expectations which you will need to uncover and address if the process is to be successfully carried through. And, if you wish to publish the results of your research, the publisher will have another set of expectations for you to satisfy.

Your subject or field of study

Many of the unwritten rules and expectations associated with your research will have to do with the particular discipline or subject area you are working in. It may have preferred styles or conventions for writing, and preferred methodologies for undertaking research. There will certainly be established traditions, and work by ‘key thinkers’, which you will need to be aware of and perhaps refer to. Your supervisor or department may also have their own preferences or specialisms.

You should check on all of these by:

• talking to your supervisor, their colleagues or other researchers in the area;

• looking at other examples of recent research projects carried out in your subject area;

• looking at the research literature for your subject area (books, journals and reports).

Previous examples of research projects

Whatever subject you are studying, there are likely to be previous examples of similarly sized research projects on similar kinds of topic to which you can get access. If you can’t find any in the libraries you have access to, ask a librarian, your supervisor, manager, colleagues or fellow researchers for help.

If you can get hold of some previous examples, don’t turn down the chance to do so, because you can learn a lot. This learning will not be so much about the particular subject you are going to research, but about what a completed piece of research looks like, the way it is put together, its scope and its limita- tions. When you see a completed thesis, dissertation or research report for the first time, you may feel daunted and unable to produce something of that scale. As you become more familiar, however, you should begin to feel that you could write something at least as good.

If you can, get some advice from your supervisor or someone else on which are considered to be better examples of previous research projects, and why.

But make your own judgement as well.

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The size of your topic

One of the key skills involved in choosing a topic is to be able to pick one of the right size: not too big, not too small, but do-able within the time, space and resources available.

Hint: Think of choosing your research topic in terms of the Goldilocks strategy.

You want to select a topic which is not too big, and not too small, but just right (and one which will not break).

If you are new to research you will probably not have developed this skill.

Indeed, it is a very common failing, but not necessarily that serious a one, for new researchers to choose topics which are far too big for them to cover. Hence the need to focus down your study, which is the theme of another section in this chapter.

If you are carrying out a research project for a university degree, there will almost certainly be restrictions both on the size and format of your final disser- tation or report. In most cases a typewritten or word-processed submission will be required. There will commonly be a maximum number of words allowed, and possibly also a minimum. Appendices or references may be within these totals, or additional to them.

If you don’t already know, find out what these restrictions on size are, and keep to them. You may think that the quality of what you write should be more important than its quantity, but think of your readers. Another of the key skills associated with doing research is being able to deliver a ‘good enough’ product within the time and space allowed. You should be able to write your research up within any reasonable word limit. Over-writing is really just self-indulgence, and it can be more difficult to cut your drafts down in size than expand them.

Further advice on this is given in the section on Drafting and re-drafting in Chapter 8.

If you you are undertaking research for professional or employment reasons, rather than for a degree, there will almost certainly still be restrictions on the size and format of your report. In business, for example, where you may be writing for very busy people, the need for brevity is paramount. Lengthy and tedious reports will not be read, even by enthusiasts. You need to make it as to the point and interesting as possible; so keep it short and punchy.

The time you have available

Similar considerations relate to the time you have available for your research study. For a small-scale research study, this will typically be of the order of a

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few hundred hours in total. You need to make the best use of this time pos- sible. It is unlikely, therefore, that you will be able to do empirical research a long way from your home, university or work (though a surprising amount can be done using the Internet, email and the telephone). You will also have to limit the extent of any data collection you undertake: there are, for example, only so many interviews or questionnaires you can get completed, or, more importantly, usefully analysed, within a given amount of time.

Of course, time issues vary for different groups of people and different research approaches. For example, if you are a busy professional researching your own practice, you may have a strong temptation to focus on completing your interviews or questionnaire survey, and then hurriedly get on with the job of analysis and writing. Even though you cannot see the ‘products’

immediately, it cannot be said too loudly that it is imperative that time and space is given to reflecting on your methods and your data. For those of you who are considering action research approaches, for example, you need to allow sufficient time to progress through the varied cycles involved.

The limitations on your time highlight the importance of planning ahead, scheduling and piloting your work.

See also the sections in Chapter 5 on Managing time and Piloting.

The cost of research

And don’t forget the cost factor. Unless you have an employer, funder or spon- sor who is going to meet absolutely all of the costs of your research project, you should be aware of the different costs associated with alternative kinds of research. You will find a list of the kinds of expenses most commonly associ- ated with social science research projects in Box 2.1.

Box 2.1 The costs of research

• Fees for degree registration or examination.

• Travel costs to and from your university or college, and/or your research sites.

• The costs of consumables such as paper, tapes, ink cartridges and batteries.

• Charges for access to certain institutions or individuals, or the Internet.

• Equipment purchase or hire costs (e.g. computer, tape recorder, software).

• Book, report and journal purchases.

• Photocopying, printing and publication costs.

• Postage and telephone costs.

• Library fines!

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For even a relatively modest project, the costs which you may have to bear will very easily amount to hundreds of pounds; or, if you have to pay registra- tion fees, thousands of pounds. Draw up a budget now, and then check whether you are going to be able to afford it. Try Exercise 2.1, at the end of the chapter.

Hint: You may be able to cut your costs in very simple ways. For example, you could re-use the tapes you use for recording interviews. And keep your inter- views short. Buy your tape recorder second-hand. You can reduce the costs of photocopying by copying two pages on to one. Buy or borrow key texts from previous researchers. Never use first class post. Do your own typing, word- processing and tr

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